


Only Dinner

by sjhw_tolerance (mscorkill)



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-23
Updated: 2012-04-23
Packaged: 2017-11-04 04:02:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/389531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mscorkill/pseuds/sjhw_tolerance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All Daniel really wants for Christmas is for his friends to be happy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Only Dinner

**Author's Note:**

> S/J fic, longer than a drabble, smutty romance preferred. No trashing other characters, please. Holiday theme and humour would be particularly nice.  
> For lolmac and the Secret Santa. Merry Christmas!
> 
> Originally posted December 2009

ONLY DINNER

Daniel, already changed into his civvies and ready to brave the winter weather outside, stood in the doorway to Sam’s lab. Her blonde head was bent over the laptop on the table in front of her, totally engrossed in her work and oblivious to his presence. He sighed inaudibly; it was early evening on December twenty-third, everyone who could leave had already gone, eager to start their holiday celebrations, even Teal’c had taken advantage of the traditional holiday slowdown to visit his family. No off world missions were scheduled until after New Year’s, there was no reason for any of them to be at the SGC.

Normally he wasn’t one to meddle in the affairs of others—though he knew Jack would disagree. But recent events had once more brought home to him the fragile nature of life and he wasn’t above giving a friendly push, or shove, to two people he counted as friends. He already knew bringing up the subject of Christmas plans with either of them was like beating his head against a brick wall. However, he acknowledged wryly, thoroughly mixing his metaphors, a little drop of water could eventually wear away the hardest of stone; which wasn’t a bad analogy when dealing with Jack O’Neill and surprisingly enough, Samantha Carter.

“Ask him.”

The two words fell like a bomb in the quiet room; the only indication that she’d heard him was a brief pause in the sound of her fingers hitting the keyboard. “Daniel,” Sam finally said, not looking up, “You know it’s not that simple.”

“He’s going to be alone.”

“By his choice,” she countered.

“So are you.”

“I can always go over to Janet’s,” she said, her voice taking on a defensive note.

“But you won’t.”

She finally looked up, clearly annoyed. “If you’re so concerned about how the Colonel is going to spend Christmas, invite him to join you.”

Daniel smiled slightly, not surprised that she’d ignored his comment about her lack of Christmas plans. “You know I’m flying out to Cancun in the morning. I really don’t think Jack is interested in spending two weeks in the jungle with twenty undergrad students studying ancient Mayan ruins.” 

One of the few good things to happen after Doctor Jordan’s death and Sarah/Osiris’ disappearance was reconnecting with his former archaeology department and he was really looking forward to the trip. Now if he could just make sure the remaining two members of his team were taken care of for the holidays.

“Not my problem.”

Now Daniel was annoyed. He’d never met two more stubborn, hard-headed people in his entire life. Tossing his coat aside, he walked over to her work bench and pushed the cover of her laptop down, forcing her to stop what she was doing and pay attention to him.

“Daniel!” she exclaimed, looking at him with something akin to shock on her face. “What is wrong with you?”

He leaned over, resting both his hands on the table, looking directly at her. “Nothing is wrong with me, but I’m beginning to wonder what’s wrong with you and Jack.”

Her normally expressive face shut down immediately. “Daniel....” She sighed, sounding dejected when she continued. “You know how things have been…ever since Martouf died.” She sighed again, her eyes sad and troubled. “It’s just better this way.”

“What I know is that two people I care about are both miserable because of some archaic rules and—”

“The regs are there for a very good reason, Daniel,” she interrupted hotly.

“Right. Like both you and Jack haven’t broken the regulations when it suits your purposes.” The guilty look on her face was all the answer he needed. He straightened up. “Look, all I’m suggesting is that two people who are going to be alone spend Christmas together.” Not waiting for her to answer, he picked up his coat and started towards the door. 

“Daniel?”

He paused and looked back at her; the expression of sad longing on her face giving him hope. 

“I’ll think about it.”

Daniel smiled as he left. “Merry Christmas, Sam.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She’d told Daniel she’d think about it. And of course, it had been the only thing she could think about after he’d left…and while she’d vainly tried to concentrate on her work. All of the reasons why it would be a bad idea to invite the Colonel over for Christmas dinner at her house chased around on an endless loop in her brain until she’d finally given in and closed up her lab. They’d already decided how they were going to deal with their ‘feelings’, even if it meant they were both alone and miserable. Well…she didn’t know for sure about him, but yeah, she was feeling the alone and miserable. 

And Daniel, damn him, was right. They’d all ignored orders and regulations for what they had deemed were right and necessary reasons. The big question though, was it right and necessary for her to cross that line with her commanding officer, the man she loved? As always, it was a question with no easy answer. 

It’s only dinner, she reminded herself for what had to be the millionth time while she’d changed, slamming her locker shut and shrugging into her coat. And it was Christmas…and since Daniel would question her incessantly upon his return, she decided on a compromise—she’d ask him over for dinner on Christmas Eve—if she saw him. Sam left the locker room feeling relatively safe and smug since the likelihood of her seeing the Colonel this late on base was practically nil.

As she expected, she didn’t encounter anyone except the night janitor on her way to the elevators. Skirting the mop bucket, she smiled brightly at the bemused looking man and strode confidently down the hall. It looked like she was going to make it safely out of the SGC and spend Christmas alone. Her smile faded slightly and her steps faltered for a brief moment. It was for the best, she reminded herself, in an effort to bolster her sagging spirits when she finally reached the elevator and pushed the up button.

It wasn’t long before the elevator arrived and she didn’t waste any time, immediately selecting her floor. Sam heard the sound of running footsteps at the same time that oh-so-familiar voice called, “Hold the elevator!” Startled, she fumbled for the ‘door open’ button while the doors continued to close. But then a hand appeared through the almost closed doors and they slid back open. She wasn’t sure who was more surprised—the Colonel or her.

“Carter,” he said, stepping cautiously into the elevator and looking around as if he expected something, or someone else, to be there.

“Sir,” she managed to stammer, her mouth suddenly dry. The doors slid shut and the elevator started to rise. “You’re here late.” He was wearing baggy jeans, a dark pull-over and he had his leather jacket slung over one arm, so she knew he was on his way home.

He shrugged, looking slightly self-conscious. “Forgot my yo-yo,” he said. He reached into one of his front pockets and pulled out a plain wooden yo-yo.

She closed her eyes for a moment, wondering if Daniel had somehow set the whole thing up, stealing the Colonel’s yo-yo, contriving their simultaneous arrival at the elevators, all in an effort to force them together. When she opened her eyes, O’Neill still stood there next to her, an enquiring look on his handsome face.

Oh god…she had to do it, bound by her promise to herself and the threat of a sulky Daniel if she didn’t. Taking a deep breath, she smiled brightly. “Sir, would you like to come over to my house for dinner tomorrow night?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack sat in his truck outside of Carter’s house. A light snow was falling, adding to the blanket of snow already on the ground, turning everything into a sparkling Christmas wonderland. He still wasn’t sure how it had all happened; one minute he had no plans for Christmas, which suited him just fine, and the next he was saying yes to Christmas Eve dinner with Sam. She’d ambushed him and somehow he’d been unable to say no to her invitation. Maybe it was the uncertain look in her blue eyes or the same loneliness he sensed in her that he felt in himself. 

Or maybe it was because he loved her. 

Whatever the reason, here he was, about to embark on what was probably the most dangerous evening of his entire life. Picking up the bright red poinsettia he’d bought at the local grocery store, Jack left the safety of his truck for the great unknown of dinner with Sam Carter. Her front walk was freshly shoveled and he’d barely had time to knock on her front door when it swung open.

There were very few times in his life when Jack O’Neill was caught off-guard, but this was one of them. His senses were overwhelmed; warmth flowed out of the house, the faint hint of roast turkey in the warm air mixed with the scents of cinnamon and fresh pine. And Sam...well…she looked nothing like his major. Her hair sparkled almost golden in the light and while he couldn’t be sure, it looked like she’d done something different with it. It seemed softer…brighter…tendrils curling around her face. Her blue eyes were shining and she smiled hesitantly, a look of cautious pleasure on her face that did something funny to his insides.

Jack was glad he’d worn a pair of black trousers and a black sweater over his shirt, instead of his old khakis and an oversized shirt, because she was dressed nicely. The dark red blouse she wore highlighted her pale skin and clung nicely in all the right places. She had on a pair of black slacks and while he didn’t expect her to be wearing her combat boots, he didn’t expect the gold slippers she had on her feet.

“Merry Christmas,” he said abruptly when he realized he’d been staring, shoving the poinsettia at her.

“Thank you,” she said, taking the gaily wrapped plant from him. “It’s beautiful.” She moved back and Jack stepped into her warm and cozy house, the door shutting behind him with a finality that should have alarmed him but didn’t.

After that, things got a little fuzzy. He remembered the faint sound of some Christmas instrumental music playing, the table set intimately for two, the red poinsettia he brought turned into an impromptu centerpiece with an array of candles that would make even Teal’c jealous. She’d cooked a turkey breast, at least he figured she had, it tasted too fresh and moist to have been something she picked up at the super market deli. Garlic mashed potatoes, along with gravy, some kind of green bean casserole, rolls, a bright red cranberry relish and pumpkin pie finished out the meal.

He’d made himself handy, opening the wine, lighting candles, carrying platters to the table. It reminded him of past Christmases, the memories bittersweet, the old mingling with the new. Conversation between them flowed easily, though he only had vague memories about what they’d talked about, it was enough to watch her and listen to her. And she was his hero when she handed him a beer, which he drank while lounging in the kitchen and trying to stay out of her way while she cleaned up.

“This was nice,” he commented.

She flashed him a brilliant smile, putting the last of the cutlery into the dishwasher. “It was.” 

Jack still wasn’t sure what he’d expected when he’d accepted her invitation; but it wasn’t the pleasant and uncomplicated meal he’d just shared with Sam. He should have known that in spite of everything that had happened over the past year, the trust and respect that was at the base of their complicated relationship would override anything else. He didn’t want the evening to end, but the later it got and the cleaner her kitchen got meant the unexpected gift of an evening with her was drawing to its inevitable end.

“We should do it again.” 

She paused in wiping down the counters and gave him an odd look. “Are you sure that’s such a wise idea?” 

Jack frowned, confusion seeping into his mellow contentment. “Well sure,” he said. “I mean, we’re friends, aren’t we?”

To Jack it seemed like she took undue care when she rinsed out and hung up the cloth she’d used on the counters and then washed her hands, carefully drying them. “Is that what we are?” she eventually asked, leaning back against the counter with her arms folded across her chest. “Friends?”

“Yes?” He didn’t have a clue as to what she wanted from him.

The warm, comfortable atmosphere that had been present between them all evening was suddenly tense. The Christmas music had stopped playing, silence enveloping them. Sam suddenly straightened up and walked towards him. Jack instinctively backed up, only stopping when he felt the counter behind him. She didn’t stop, crowding him until they were almost touching; he could feel her breathing. His heart started pounding in his chest and he fumbled behind him, setting his beer down.

“Prove it.” 

He heard the challenge in her voice and saw it in her eyes, but before he could even formulate an answer, she pressed closer to him, her features becoming blurred when she pressed her lips against his.

Jack gripped the counter behind him with both hands, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he struggled not to respond to the sweet pressure of her lips against his. God, he could feel her breasts pressing against his chest, the light touch of her hand on his nape, holding him to her. He felt himself start to weaken, the blood racing through his veins and he relaxed, his hands gently grasping her waist as he responded to her kiss.

Her lips left his immediately and she stepped back, out of his reach. “So we’re friends?”

Over the pounding of his heart and his ragged breathing, Jack heard the tremor in her voice and it gave him hope. “No,” he said, as calmly as he could. “It’s always been something more. And that’s the problem, isn’t it?”

He sensed the struggle in her, it was the same one he felt inside himself. Could they be more than friends and still work together? He didn’t know the answer, but he was willing to find out.

“Jack,” she finally said, the light in her eyes fading. “I think you’d better go.”

“Is that what you want, Sam?”

She turned away from him and walked out of the kitchen, her laugh ragged. “What I want? I can’t have what I want.”

He caught up to her with two steps, his hands on her shoulders and his cheek pressed against her hair. “What if you could? What if we both could?”

Relief flooded through him when he felt her relax against him and he released her shoulders, wrapping his arms around her from behind. Her hands clasped his and he had to strain to hear her voice. “What about our jobs?”

Jack felt almost giddy, if their jobs were her only concern…. “Jobs can change,” he murmured, nuzzling her hair. “If that’s what we want.”

Sam shifted and he loosened his arms marginally when she turned in his embrace; her hands cradling his face. The hope and uncertainty in her eyes tore at his heart when she asked, “Do you mean it?”

“Always.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam snuggled closer to the sleeping man beside her, wrapping a proprietary arm around him. Her internal clock told her it was close to morning, but she was too snug and cozy warm, cuddled up with Jack to try and see the clock. Never in a million years had she imagined that she’d wake up on Christmas morning with Jack by her side, at least not in her bed, she amended with a dreamy smile. Thinking back to the night before, she was amazed and impressed that they’d made it to her bedroom. Jack’s hands and mouth had been hungry and impatient—matching the desire that swept through her at the implicit promise in his words. 

And once they were in her bed…her dreamy smile widened and she hugged him tighter, burying her face in his throat. Beneath all of the science and BDUs, she was as romantic as the next woman and while she didn’t expect perfection the first time, being with Jack had come pretty damn close. Any more perfect and she’d probably have died and gone to heaven, she mused. Maybe it was the years spent working side by side with him, both of their lives depending in each other, or maybe he was just an exceptionally skilled lover. It really didn’t matter, she decided, it was enough that there were no more walls between them.

She nuzzled his neck again and pressed against him as she was, she felt the subtle change in his breathing that indicated he was awake. Of course, the fact that he also wrapped his arms around her was another clue. Rising up on one elbow, she looked down at him. His face was unguarded, his expression open and relaxed. “Merry Christmas.” 

“Merry Christmas,” he rumbled. 

She shivered when one strong hand slid down her back in a sweeping caress. Shifting so that she lay partially on top of him, she watched his eyes darken as she lowered her mouth to his. Where their earlier kisses had been frantic and hungry, the ones they shared now were slow and easy. Sam took her time, savoring his taste and the textures of his mouth, concentrating intently on each sensation coursing languidly through her. 

And Jack appeared to be doing the same, content to stroke her in long, sweeping caresses until it became too much for both of them and he lifted her over him. Bracing herself with one hand on his chest and using the other to guide him, she leisurely settled down on him. Sam gasped softly at the exquisite sensation, no less intense for the slowness than their first frenzied coupling. She watched him with loving eyes, matching her pace to his movements, their bodies flowing together in a perfect rhythm that soon had her calling out his name as ecstasy swelled through her and he followed, answering the call of their passion.

Collapsing on him in an incredibly satisfied heap, Sam murmured, “I think this will go down as one of the best Christmases ever.”

A low chuckle rumbled through his chest, his hands once more moving in leisurely caresses up and down her back. “About the only thing that could make it better would be pancakes.”

Sam laughed, joy coursing through her; she was glad to see that some things never changed. “Only if you make them, mister.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hello.” Daniel frowned slightly when he saw Colonel Reynolds sitting at the briefing table, manila folders spread out in front of him. He glanced over at Teal’c, who merely raised an eyebrow.

“Doctor Jackson,” Reynolds greeted him. “Have a nice holiday?”

“Um…yes.” Daniel sat down in his customary seat and asked out of politeness, “Yourself?” 

Reynolds shrugged. “The kids had a good time, makes all the craziness worthwhile, you know?”

Before he could formulate a reply, Sam rushed into the room, hurriedly passing out folders. “Sorry, sir,” she said to Reynolds. “I got held up.”

Reynolds didn’t appear unduly disturbed. “Not a problem, Major.”

Sam sat down next to Reynolds and opened one of the folders. “As you can see from the initial MALP data—”

“Whoa, wait a minute,” Daniel interrupted. “What’s going on? Where’s Jack?”

“Maybe I should answer that question, Doctor Jackson.”

Both Reynolds and Sam stood up when Hammond entered the room.

“As you were,” he instructed, sitting down at the head of the table. “I know this may come as somewhat of a surprise to you, Doctor Jackson, but Colonel O’Neill has requested a transfer to the X-303 flight training program and I have granted him that request.”

“Jack is gone?”

Hammond chuckled. “No, he’s still attached to the SGC. He just won’t be in command of SG1. Colonel Reynolds is the new leader of SG1.”

Daniel was stunned and he looked slowly around the table. Teal’c looked as inscrutable and unperturbed as always and Sam didn’t look at all upset by the change in command. Reynolds smiled at him. “A change in command always takes some getting used to, but I’m sure we’ll adjust to each other just fine.”

Daniel managed to utter some kind of appropriate response and then spent the rest of the briefing in a bit of a daze, barely following the details of their next mission. Jack transferred? Reynolds the new commander of SG1? Maybe he was in some alternate reality…. He was so lost in thought, he didn’t even realize the briefing was over until he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Sam standing next to him, everyone else gone.

“Daniel, are you okay?”

“I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “I can’t believe that Jack would want to transfer from SG1.”

“It’s all your fault,” she said. Leaning down, she placed a kiss on his cheek. “Don’t worry, everything is going to be just fine.”

Even more confused now, he sat there dumbly while she smiled at him and walked out of the room. And then it hit him. “Wait!” he yelled, jumping out of the chair and racing down the hall after her. “You invited him to Christmas dinner, didn’t you?”

THE END


End file.
